Wednesday's Question Of The Day:
Revisiting A Favorite
Hump day? Well, I'll give you something to ponder.
Yes, it's time for Wednesday's Question Of The Day.
Each Wednesday, a new question to give you the opportunity to do a bit of self-examination. Think of it as a way of getting to know all about you and a chance to learn a little more about me.
That's right. You know me; spill that tea! For I am the king of over-sharing!
Oh, and please leave your responses in the comments section.
Why, think of this as a little blogging kiki!
Okay! Ready, set...
Here's today's question:
Have you ever revisited something (a book, a movie, etc.) and found it hasn't aged well? What and how?
Sex In The City (the series)
I was cat-sitting for my sister while she was in Japan for ten days. I had very little to do. I ran three miles every day. Wrote a lot. Ate super healthy. And cleaned her house.
I also started re-watching Sex In The City, which was originally shown on HBO.
My memories of it are very fond. I adored Samantha's sexual exploits and the candidness with which the women would discuss sexual matters. I adored Miranda's stubbornness, drive to achieve, snarkiness, and desire to remain independent. Charlotte was always problematic for me because I can't relate to WASPs. Her prudishness and disregard for reality, while playing well against her more pragmatic cohorts, left me cold. It would seem that the writers also had no idea what to do with her, for they took great joy in placing Charlotte in the most humiliating circumstances possible, something meant to be humorous, but now strikes me as passive-aggressively sado-masochistic.
And then, there was Carrie.
I used to think she was cute and adorable. Like a puppy, mindlessly bounding about with enthusiasm, in need of protection. I wanted to share her lust for life.
Carrie hasn't aged well.
She's myopic; everything is about Carrie. Carrie's latest crisis. Carrie's latest need. Carrie's romance. Carrie, Carrie, Carrie.
The bitch is exhausting.
After a point? I wouldn't be inviting her to join us for brunch anymore.
She whines. All the time. She makes excuses - it's always someone else's fault. She never learns. She never grows. There is a surprising lack of maturity and self-awareness hobbling about the streets of New York City on those Louis Vuittons.
The third time she strays back and reattaches to Mr. Big? You want to take her by both shoulders and shake her like a ragdoll. Honestly? What are you thinking? Have you no self-respect? Are you really this needy? This stupid?
And then there's her relationship with Aidan. The first thing out of her mouth is a lie and she simply continues to lie from that moment on. He's so sweet. He's like a cuddly, loyal yellow Labrador Retriever. And he can fix things! Carrie is a damn fool.
Then there's the matter of what these women actually do. Oh, they are all super-successful - owner of a successful PR firm, manager of a hip, cutting-edge art gallery, partner at a powerful attorney's, firm, and the writer of a popular, salacious newspaper column. But, what do we see them do? They go to restaurants. They go to bars. They go to clubs. They go to art gallery openings. They go to fashion shows. They go shopping. They buy designer shoes. Their homes are little more than places to sleep, have sex, and to store and change clothes.
It's a mind-numbing. repetitive existence.
They do walk the streets of New York City - in Carrie's case, frequently looking like a three-dollar hooker.
I don't fault the actresses. Or the writers, for that matter - although one can only imagine how scripts were written and story arcs determined without anyone raising the possibility that these women were capable of growing and evolving as human beings.
The thing which I adored about the series? The fact that these women formed this tightknit circle, one where everything was on the table. They spoke with a candor which I found refreshing, and still do. It's what I wanted for myself. It's what we all want for ourselves.
Well, that closeness remains evident. But, post-COVID, it strikes me as little more than a quaint idea, an ideal whose time has passed me by and been rendered a relic. I can't imagine spending that amount of time with the same three people. I now require a lot more privacy and alone time. My days of yearning to adopt a pack mentality have vanished along with my sense of personal safety, appreciation of technology, and desire to tell people what they need to do or be.
In a way, it's a shame.
Revisiting this series? It's as close as I'll ever come to going to a high school reunion. For the longest time, these ladies were my best friends, relationship archetypes I attempted to recreate in real life. Well, you can imagine how well that went, huh?
In the end? Watching this series again was exactly like going to said reunion. You find yourself surrounded by people you once knew intimately, relied upon constantly and appreciated greatly. But life moved on, and so did you. They're strangers to you now. And all you have in common...
...is the thought of what you used to think used to be.
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Used To Be Young - Miley Cyrus
